Sentry LLC Sells 346 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sentry LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 55,456 shares of the company’s stock after selling 346 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.2% of Sentry LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Sentry LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.3% in the first quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 32,832 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.7 %

MRK opened at $111.54 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.14 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $282.51 billion, a PE ratio of 123.93, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $114.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.78.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($2.06) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 342.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.